1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to surgical instruments for use in endoscopic surgery. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a surgical apparatus for use applying tissue fasteners.
2. Background of Related Art
Surgical staplers and other surgical stapling apparatus for use in endoscopic procedures are known. Typically, a standard surgical staple includes a loading unit having a tool assembly for applying one or more rows of staples to tissue. The tool assembly includes a cartridge for holding the staples and an anvil for deforming the staples against. As with all conventional staplers, the height of the staples must be longer than the thickness of the tissue being stapled in order to permit the staples to be deformed and bite into the tissue. When thicker tissue is being stapled and/or more of a bite is desired from the staple, a longer staple is required. To accommodate the larger staple, a larger staple cartridge is required. The process of deforming the staple(s) further requires that the staple cartridge and anvil are sturdy enough to handle the forces generated when stapling tissue.
Therefore, it would be beneficial to have a surgical apparatus capable of applying tissue fasteners to tissue with reduced force. It would further be beneficial for the tissue fastener applying device to have a reduced profile for introduction through smaller ports and access assemblies.